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Introduction of the Workplace Safety and Health Bill
Passing of the Bill
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The Workplace Safety and Health Act administered
by the Ministry of Manpower, which supersedes the
Factories Act, came into effect on 1 March 2006.
The key emphases in the new framework for OSH in
Singapore are:
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| a. |
Reducing risks to workers
at the source by holding all stakeholders
(i.e.
employers, suppliers, designers and
employees) accountable for managing the
risks they create. |
| b. |
Promoting industry
ownership of OSH standards and outcomes. A
performance-based approach will be adopted
augmented with prescriptive guidance for
hazardous sectors and activities, to promote
greater industry ownership. |
| c. |
Punish poor safety
management through prosecution and other
administrative measures. MOM will impose
greater financial disincentives and
penalties on workplaces with unsafe systems,
before any accident has occurred. This will
create the right environment where all
workplaces find it more cost effective to
improve their safety management systems. |
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How does this affect NUS ?
In general, current NUS safety and health
policies, systems and programmes are in line with
expectations of the Act and its subsidiary
regulations for example we have an online Accident
and Incident Reporting System (AIRS) to capture
reportable accidents and incidents as defined by the
regulations:
Dangerous occurrences
reportable under the Workplace
Safety and Health (Incident Reporting)
Regulations |
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Explosion or Fire
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| a. |
Explosion or fire
in a room or place in which persons
are at work,
and which results in damage to the
structure of the site, or to any
machinery or plant there. |
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The explosion or fire must have
been due to the ignition of dust,
gas
or vapour, or the ignition of any
substance made of or containing
celluloid. |
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The incident must have also
resulted in the complete suspension
of
ordinary work at the site or
stoppage of machinery or plant for
at least
5 hours. |
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| b. |
Electrical short
circuit or failure of electrical
machinery, plant or
apparatus, which results in an
explosion, fire or structural
damage,
and involves its stoppage or disuse
for at least 5 hours. |
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| c. |
Explosion or
fire affecting any site in which
persons are at work
and causing complete suspension of
ordinary work in the site for at
least 24 hours. |
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Collapse of
Structures or Equipment
| a. |
Failure or collapse
of formwork or its supports |
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| b. |
Whole or partial
collapse of a scaffold exceeding 15
metres in
height, or a suspended or hanging
scaffold from which any person
may fall more than 2 metres |
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| c. |
Collapse or failure
of lifting equipment
Lifting equipment refers to a crane,
derrick, winch, hoist, piling frame
or any appliance used in raising or
lowering persons or goods. The
collapse or failure of any
load-bearing part of lifting
equipment,
except the breakage of the chain or
rope slings, is also considered to
be a dangerous occurrence. In the
case of a crane, a dangerous
occurrence includes instances in
which it is overturned |
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Machinery Damage
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Bursting of a
revolving vessel, wheel, grindstone
or grinding wheel
moved by mechanical power |
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| b. |
Explosion or
failure of the structure of a steam
boiler, receiver or
container used for the storage at a
pressure greater than atmospheric
pressure of any gas or gases
(including air) or any liquid or
solid
resulting from the compression of
gas |
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Flooding
Accidental seepage or entry of seawater into
a dry dock or floating
dock causing flooding of the dry dock or
floating dock.
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We also have a comprehensive risk assessment
system to identify hazards and propose control
measure to reduce them at them at their source. Many
departments have comprehensive safety and health
management systems, which have elements of training,
safety promotion and recognition of good practices. |
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